By CHRIS MCGANN, P-I REPORTER

Updated 10:00 pm, Sunday, June 18, 2006

The King County Council voted along party lines Monday to authorize an all mail-in ballot election but it unanimously supported a provision that would delay the transition until key elements of the elections department are in place.

And that could push back all mail-in voting for the state's largest county as far out as 2009. Thirty four of the Washington's 39 counties have already switched to all vote-by-mail elections.

But before King County's new system can be put in place:

*A new elections director and superintendent of elections must be hired and in place.

*In turn, the new director and the elections staff must complete the cultural change and management training recommended by the Citizen's Election Oversight Committee.

*And finally the cost estimates for the proposed regional voting centers and ballot drop-off centers must be approved by the Council.

In all, the additional requirements of the bill could put off the implementation of the new system for several years.

"We need to take a little time," said Councilmember Kathy Lambert. "Obviously we have so many changes coming in our elections department right now so we may have some time."

The original proposed change hit a snag last week when Dean Logan, director of King County elections, announced his resignation.

King County Executive Ron Sims had planned for an August 2007 rollout of the vote-by-mail system, which the County Council, voted on Monday after several delays.

"Working with the council, we have crafted amendments to acknowledge that Dean's departure may impact the timeline for implementation," he said. "The amendments allow us to move forward in a thoughtful manner and provide several key check-in points with the council."

Nonetheless, Sims has not rule out the possibility of satisfying the new requirements by next year.

According to his spokesman Sandeep Kaushik, "2007 is by no means absolutely off the table."

Although the criteria alone would present a formidable challenge for the county to satisfy by 2008, they are not the only hurdle ahead for those pushing for all-mail in ballots.

Even if the county complies with the new requirements, doing so will not automatically trigger the new system, it only clears the way. The 2008 presidential election would be an unlikely first run for a new system.

"The ordinances simply authorize King County to conduct a vote-by-mail election and provide the money to take the initial steps for all-mail voting," Sims said of the Council vote.

Still, Sims would not rule out that possibility provided "we are confident that it could be done smoothly," Kaushik said.

Logan was present at Monday's hearing to answer questions of the council.